Speaking of their initial discussions to roll Abbott when the polls started to go south, Turnbull and Morrison had varied recollections.
Mr Turnbull said: ‘Scott was keen to get moving against Abbott. We had a series of meetings around that period. He was very concerned about Abbott’s prospects.
‘Scott is a very professional political tactician, and he can count.’
But Mr Turnbull said he was wary of Morrison, even then.
‘I know the guy, right? I’ve known him for years. I know how he operates. Scott’s dream sequence was for me to challenge Abbott, to lose, to be discredited as the disruptor, the challenger.
‘And then when Abbott continued to underperform, for Scott to come through the middle as the compromise candidate.’
Whereas, Morrison argued: ‘No, I don’t think I’d agree with the conclusion.
‘You know, people have discussions but can take away different conclusions.
‘We were in a difficult spot at that time, and, you know, there were assessments that things were not travelling well for us.
‘We needed to turn things around. That’s what we needed to do and I was keen to deal with that in the Cabinet.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk